Smart Business Magazine, July 2018

56 Smart Business Cleveland July 2018 INSIGHTS LOGISTICS Time is money Low price doesnt mean greatest savings with LTL shipping When it comes to less than truckload shipping LTL companies are looking for the right carrier with the best transit times rates and services Its a challenge to find the best carrier because there are so many running the same routes says Brad Mullins COO at AMWARE Companies When searching for an LTL shipping provider of which there are many companies tend to spend a lot of time online visiting carriers websites typing in the same information over and over to get their rates and transit times Shippers that have 100 orders a day are often getting three to five quotes per shipment The time it takes to do that becomes a challenge he says Given the consolidation thats happened in many companies traffic departments finding a third party logistics provider 3PL that can not only find competitive rates but offer other time savings services can bring real bottom line value Smart Business spoke with Mullins about how the right 3PL can make shopping for the best LTL carrier easier What challenges do companies typically face when it comes to finding an LTL carrier Not every shipment is built the same There are myriad product types under many National Motor Freight Classification designations all of which are factors when negotiating shipping costs with carriers And only when carriers have been contacted and specific rates have been negotiated can rates be compared against all others to find the best price and transit time for a particular shipment Because the traffic departments of a lot of companies have been consolidated theres no longer multiple personnel available to deal individually with all the aspects of the department loading trucks finding and comparing shipping rates scheduling production etc Its often the case that one person is loading trucks and negotiating rates with carriers This is why 3PLs have become such a key partner in recent years How can 3PL companies help with LTL shipping Having a shipping partner that has the experience needed to compare shipping costs among LTL carriers is important and its a service that can be found in some 3PL companies These companies can gather the information and find the best quotes for each LTL shipment eliminating the time burden while quickly finding the best prices Theyre a partner and a consultant that has the technology combined with an understanding of shipping characteristics to narrow down the choice of carriers Some 3PL companies have a full team of dispatchers who can help move freight They will find the best LTL carrier for the job schedule the pickup and complete all of the paperwork that goes along with the delivery and deal with any discrepancies to ensure the price quoted is the price charged Theyll even handle the billing Not all 3PLs have a team Some just have software tied to their websites that traffic department personnel can use to manually search rates Companies can also find 3PLs that are able to integrate their shipping software with a companys existing Enterprise Resource Planning systems That enables the provider to populate shipping characteristics the moment an order is received and begins the routing process What benefits can companies realize by partnering with a 3PL to handle their LTL shipping Partnering with a full service 3PL company offers relief to a companys traffic manager enabling them to get back the time needed to make sure the right product gets on the right trucks rather than managing carriers Theres also a bottom line benefit to working with a 3PL For instance some traffic managers can spend three hours every day trying to find the right carrier for every shipment By working with a 3PL those three hours can be deployed elsewhere It means consistently getting the best shipping prices while lowering the time spent finding them which brings down overhead costs Not every 3PL is the same Full service 3PLs offer deeper services to manage all of a companys LTL shipping Find a company that can be partner and consultant Working off of price alone will not help companies achieve the savings theyre looking for BRAD MULLINS COO AMWARE Companies 866 997 7371 info@ amware com Insights Logistics is brought to you by Amware INTERVIEWED BY ADAM BURROUGHS BLOG Get up to speed on shipping and logistics AMWAREs blog has information to help you make the best decisions for your company Visit amware com blog

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